“It is in fact not the consciousness dominating life but the very life dominating consciousness.”

—  Karl Marx

Source: The German Ideology (1845-1846), Vol. III, 27.

Original

Nicht das Bewußtsein bestimmt das Leben, sondern das Leben bestimmt das Bewußtsein.

Die deutsche Ideologie. Marx/Engels, MEW 3, S. 27, 1845/46
Die deutsche Ideologie (1845)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 1, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is in fact not the consciousness dominating life but the very life dominating consciousness." by Karl Marx?
Karl Marx photo
Karl Marx 290
German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and … 1818–1883

Related quotes

Isaac Asimov photo

“All normal life, Peter, consciously or otherwise, resent domination. If the domination is by an inferior, or by a supposed inferior, the resentment becomes stronger.”

Isaac Asimov book I, Robot

Source: I, Robot

“A dominant wolf's desire to protect was a strong instinct--Samuel was very dominant. Give him an inch, and he'd take over the world--my life, if I let him." ~Mercy”

Patricia Briggs book Blood Bound

Source: Blood Bound

Nisargadatta Maharaj photo

“(…) In reality there is only consciousness. All life is conscious, all consciousness alive.”

Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian guru

Awareness and consciousness
Source: "I am That." P.47.

“In separating consciousness from the material world Plato has to ascribe the formative faculty of the mind to consciousness, whereas the formative processes of the human system are largely unconscious, that is, they operate below the dominant processes of the human hierarchy and only come to attention at special moments.”

Lancelot Law Whyte (1896–1972) Scottish industrial engineer

Source: The Next Development in Man (1948), p. 203

Paulo Freire photo

“For if the people join to their presence in the historical process critical thinking about that process, the threat of their emergence materializes in a revolution. Whether one calls this correct thinking 'revolutionary consciousness' or 'class consciousness,' it is an indispensable precondition of revolution. The dominant elites are so well aware of this fact that they instinctively use all means, including physical violence, to keep people from thinking.”

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) educator and philosopher

Pedagogia do oprimido (Pedagogy of the Oppressed) (1968, English trans. 1970)

Albert Schweitzer photo

“True philosophy must start from the most immediate and comprehensive fact of consciousness: "I am life that wants to live, in the midst of life that wants to live."”

Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher

Source: Kulturphilosophie (1923), Vol. 2 : Civilization and Ethics, Chapter 26 "The Civilizing Power of the Ethics of Reverence for Life"

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi photo

“Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934) Hungarian American psychologist

Source: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Steven Novella photo

“Isn't the future necessarily going to be dominated by machine life?”

Steven Novella (1964) American neurologist, skepticist

SGU, Podcast #401 – March 23rd, 2013 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/401
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

Bell Hooks photo

“As more people of color raise our consciousness and refuse to be pitted against one another, the forces of neo-colonial white supremacist domination must work harder to divide and conquer.”

Bell Hooks (1952) American author, feminist, and social activist

Source: Killing Rage: Ending Racism

Fernando Pessoa photo

“The consciousness of life's unconsciousness is intelligence's oldest tax.”

Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet

Ibid., p. 91
The Book of Disquiet
Original: A consciência da insonsciência da vida é o mais antigo imposto à inteligência.

Related topics